Like a dream.

In 2022, when Seattle was announced as one of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup, I said to my oldest son, Aaron, ‘We’re going.’

2026 was four years away, so I said it with such confidence that I didn’t think anything of it in-between that time. It was years away. I gave no thought to the how – how to pay for it, how to get there, etc.

Then I remembered my writing.

Writing. That’s what I do. Or, I do, but not really about sports anymore. I walked away from sportswriting about 9 years ago and turned to my faith. You can read about that at sunnycadwallader.com. I write a lot more often there, but CadChica Sports…eh, not so much.

It was as if I lost my passion for writing about sports and social media. Not “as if”. I did lose it. There was so much of self that I had to give up that I lost sight of who I was. But then the World Cup came around and reminded me I didn’t lost it after all.

And so, I resurrected CadChica Sports one more time.

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There is a certain thrill of attending major events with your kids. They are all adults now, so all I have are distant memories of the major events in their lives. This World Cup…I’m finding it hard to write the right words to describe it.

But….let’s start at the beginning with the TICKETS. I knew it was going to be expensive, so the thought of actually going to the World Cup seemed almost a foolish idea. I wasn’t exactly wrong.

FIFA, in their infinite wisdom, didn’t sell the tickets outright. No, they offered a “right to buy” option. Limited options were available for each city. Seattle, for some inexplicable reason, seemed to always offer the first opportunities. Meaning, if you timed it right, you could sign up for one of only a few chances for a right to buy. I think there were maybe 60 positions max for Seattle matches.

60.

Each city had a limited amount of options with FIFA only publishing a few times per day for each day they were available. I would see Dallas or L.A. options multiple times in a day whereas Seattle was just…one time. The next day there would be none. I know this because FIFA allowed you to see the previous city postings and that they were maxed out.

Needless to say, I never received the “right-to-buy”.

Thinking that our chances were done, my son offered up the idea of third-party. I despised the idea, but if we were going to make it happen I had to pull the trigger. With a resurrected CadChica Sports, in all its former “glory”, tickets were purchased to cover this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

With my son by my side.

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With June approaching, I started to get excited. Not just for my birthday – June 8, btw – but the World Cup. It almost didn’t seem real. Having never been to one before, I thought I’d document it starting with the drive to Seattle.

Haha! I made a few more before the match, but once it started I didn’t care about recording myself. It was all about U-S-A!

Match day was electric at Lumen Field in Seattle. So much red, white, and blue as far as the eye could see outside & sometimes even inside the stadium too.

Once we reached our seats, well…

Surrounded by Aussies!

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I must admit that being surrounded by Aussies was a bit unnerving at first, but overall they were fun to be around. Maybe that has to do with the U.S. winning the match. When the U.S. scored, I cheered. I have to thank the Aussies for that. Their passion for their team was so infectious. Having worked in sports media and seen what happens behind the scenes, I lost that passion for sports.

For a few hours, I was a sports fan again. I cheered the USMNT with a lost passion from long ago.

Being Aussies, yeah, lots of beer flowed, so a few got obnoxious here and there after the second U.S. goal or when U-S-A echoed through the stadium. Not sure how anyone could afford that much beer at $18-20 per can, but yet they did throughout the entirety of the match.

Despite all of that, we received some good-natured ribbing and cheering with new friends – on both sides – before, during, and after the match.

And although so many videos were shared after the match, they cannot quite describe what it was like post-match to sing “Country Roads” with both Americans and Aussies.

More people stayed for this moment than left. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a John Denver song would have such an impact on me. I grew up when he was popular, so to sing “Country Roads” in 2026…at a World Cup match…speechless!

Just an incredible atmosphere in Seattle for a USMNT match. I will remember it for a long time.

A sports dream come true.

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Bonus: video of Freeman’s goal at the 2026 World Cup from our POV.

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